Executive Summary - English
Executive Summary - English
Executive Summary - English
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
OF
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT
AND
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN
OF
KESLA NORTH COAL BLOCK
VILLAGES BELA AND TAPRA,
DISTRICT KORBA, CHHATTISGARH
(EXTENT : BLOCK AREA 750 HA.; ML AREA 750 HA.,
PRODUCTION 0.30 MTPA BY OPENCAST & UNDERGROUND METHODS)
SEPTEMBER, 2011
Prepared by :
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Kesla North block has been allotted to M/s Rathi Udyog Ltd. (formerly
known as M/s Rathi Steel & Power Limited) vide allotment letter no
38011/2/2007-CA-1 dated 5th August, 2008 to meet the coal requirement of
their own Sponge Iron Plant of capacity 0.75 million tonnes per annum
situated at District Sambalpur in Orissa.
The allotted coal block lies in north-eastern part of Korba Coalfield, which is
located in the south central part of the Son-Mahanadi Valley basin belt. It is
located entirely within the Korba district of Chhattisgarh. The coal is
proposed to be mined by underground as well as opencast method. Kesla
North block has an area of 750 Ha. It will have an annual production 3 lakh
tonnes.
The mine lease is located in villages Bela and Tapra of Korba District in
Chattisgarh state. The block falls in the Survey of India Toposheet no. 64
J/15 and lies between latitudes 22°26’05” to 22°28’0.48” and longitudes
82°46’36.84” to 82°49’20” as per GPS measurement. The western and
eastern parts of the Korba coalfield lying on either sides of the Hasdeo river
are approachable by a 72 km road from Bilaspur and by a 38 km road from
Champa, respectively. The nearest railway station is Korba which is about
40 km south west of the block and lies on the Bilaspur-Champa-Gevra road
branch line of South Eastern Railway. The nearest airport Raipur is about
215 km towards south-west from the project site. The location map is given
in Fig 1.
2.1 Geology
The Korba Coalfield in the lower Hasdeo valley is an integral part of the
Son-Mahanadi Master Gondwana basin. The block is mostly covered with
sandy soil and has some exposures of weathered sandstone. Kesla North
block is free from any dolerite and mica peridotite intrusion. Block has
simple geological structure and is free from any structural disturbance as it
is completely free from faulting. The strike takes a northerly swing in the
northern and western part of the block. Local undulations in the strike are
commonly seen in the block. The dip varies between 3° and 7°.
Executive Summary for Kesla North Coal Block of M/s Rathi Steel & Power Ltd., Chhattisgarh 1
Min Mec Consultancy Pvt. Ltd.
A total of 36.148 million tonnes of net in-situ coal reserves from the four
major seams, namely, R-IV, R-III, R-II & R-IA have been estimated. The
maximum reserves of 17.080 million tonnes (47.3%) are available in sector
IV, followed by 8.050 million tonnes (22.3%) in sector III and 7.195 million
tonnes (19.9%) in sector II. Out of the total reserves, 29.095 million tonnes
(80.5%) belong to the superior quality grades ‘A’, ‘B’ & ‘C’ while 4.329
million tonnes (12%) belong to the medium quality grade ‘D’ and 2.724
million tonnes (7.5%) to the inferior quality ‘E’, ‘F’ & ‘G’ grades. Of the total
reserves, 8.027 million tonnes (22.2%) are available up to 1.20 m thickness
range, 21.306 million tonnes (58.9%) in 1.2 m to 2.0 m and 6.815 million
tonnes (18.9%) in 2.0 m to 3.5 m thickness range. Of the total reserves,
32.307 million tonnes (89.4%) are available beyond the 15 m hard cover
zone and 3.841 million tonnes (10.6%) within 15 m hard cover zone. Out of
the total reserves, 28.908 million tonnes (80%) are available outside the
different barrier zones and 7.240 million tonnes (20%) within the barrier
zones. The life of the mine will be 51 years at 0.30 million tonnes per
annum.
2.3 Mining
Opencast mining: Seams R-IV, R-II & R-IA will be worked by opencast
method up to 50 m depth line. Mining and transport of coal and OB will be
fully mechanised. The total extractable coal reserve is 1.994 million tonnes
and overburden is 36.433 million cubic metre. The overall stripping ratio
including all pits is 18.27 cum:te. It is estimated that a total of 0.87 million
cubic metre (Loose) of top soil will be generated. The life of the opencast
mine will be 11 years. Production will begin in first year. It is proposed to
use shovel of 0.9-1.10 m3 backhoe (Diesel hydraulic operated) in
combination with eight 10 tonnes rear dump trucks for coal production. 8 m
to 10 m high benches will be developed to excavate the over burden.
Crawler-mounted, pneumatically operated, down the hole drilling rigs with
hole diameter of 110/160 mm will be deployed in over burden. In coal, rotary
bore hole drills will be used for drilling 110/115 mm diameter holes. The
surface transport of coal will be done by Coal Tippers to the pit head
stockpile. The over burden will be transported by dumpers to the surface
dumps and backfill dumps.
Underground mining: All the four seams (R-IV, R-III, R-II and R-IA) are
also viable for working through underground mining due to very good quality
of coal varying from ‘A’ to ‘C’, less thickness and high over burden to coal
ratio. Seam R-IV & R-IA will be worked with one pair and Seams R-III and
R-II will be worked by another pair of inclines. There will not be any coal
production from underground mining in first three years. From 4th year
underground mining will be started and will continue till the end of life of
mine. The seams can be approached by driving inclines in stone. The
Executive Summary for Kesla North Coal Block of M/s Rathi Steel & Power Ltd., Chhattisgarh 3
Min Mec Consultancy Pvt. Ltd.
length of inclines in 4:1 gradient will be 160 m which will take about 6
months time to drive. Working is done mostly on conventional board and
pillar system of working. About 50% of coal reserve is in the thickness range
of less than 1.5 m, if 1.58 million tonnes of ‘A’ grade is included for
thickness between 0.5 to 0.9 m. The extractable reserve will be 12.266
million tonnes. The extraction will be carried out in all seams with blasting
off solid and loading with low height site dump loader to chain
conveyor/pony belt conveyor and finally by skip to surface.
2.4 Blasting
Opencast mining: The drill will be deployed on the horizontal bench cut by
the shovel. A powder factor of 0.30 to 0.35 kg per bank cubic metre for
overburden and 0.2 kg/m3 with 110/115 mm diameter drills for coal has
been adopted. Short delay detonators and heavy ANFO explosive with daily
requirement of 5.93 tonnes is proposed to be used.
The ground water table will be intersected during the 1st year of mining.
During open cast mining, the water will be pumped out from mine sump to
settling reservoir on surface. The water seepage into the underground mine
workings will be collected at the lowermost points of workings in each seam
where the sumps of appropriate capacity will be provided.
The surface dump of overburden generated during the initial years will be
made on north-west side of Bela village within the block boundary. The
height of the dump will be 60 m and its capacity will be 4.2 million cubic
metres (Loose). Backfilling will start from 1st year of the project operation
with a quantity of 3.05 million cum (Loose) of overburden. Till 5th year, 22.16
Million cum (Loose) material will be backfilled. Crown dump at a height of
20m will be made from 2nd year onwards on both pits. The total topsoil
generated will be 0.76 Million cum (Bank) during the development of mine.
The remaining void area of 32.30 Ha and 15.80 million cum volume of the
excavated pit will ultimately become a water reservoir, having a maximum
depth of about 50 m.
Executive Summary for Kesla North Coal Block of M/s Rathi Steel & Power Ltd., Chhattisgarh 4
Min Mec Consultancy Pvt. Ltd.
The power line of 11 KV will be drawn from nearest sub station to the local
sub-station from where the power will be supplied to the mine and other
functional buildings.
The total manpower of 740 will be required for both opencast and
underground operations.
The core area is drained by a number of small nalas which originate from
the hillock present in the northern part and flow in the southerly direction.
The drainage pattern of the study area is dendrite type and at place sub
parallel in nature. The study area forms a part of Hasdo river basin. Large
number of natural drainage network cutting across the study area originates
from hilly terrain located in north west parts and drain off the entire storm
water to river Hasdo flowing southerly along the western border of the study
area. The important natural streams are Phulkadi, Ghincha, Karijharia,
Dhengur and Sarbahar.
The micro-meteorology was monitored at the site from March to May 2011.
The temperature recorded as a minimum of 16.9°C and maximum of
43.6°C, relative humidity as a minimum of 15.9% and maximum of 60%
during the monitoring period. The wind speed varies between calm to 23.8
km/hr and the predominant wind direction was observed from NE with
15.55% of occurrences.
Executive Summary for Kesla North Coal Block of M/s Rathi Steel & Power Ltd., Chhattisgarh 5
Min Mec Consultancy Pvt. Ltd.
Ambient air quality was studied at five locations, one in the core and four in
the buffer zone namely Suarmal, Kherwar, Dandro and Parsakhola villages.
PM10 was found to vary from 37.4 to 69.3 µg/m3, PM2.5 was found to vary
from 20.9 to 41.0 µg/m3, SO2 from 6.5 to 11.7 µg/m3 and NOx from 6.8 to
13.0 µg/m3 values are much on the lower side. CO values were found to be
less than 1000 µg/m3 at all location.
2 surface water samples (Hasdo and Sarbahar rivers) and 7 ground water
samples (core zone, Tapra, Gahaniya, Thakurheta, Gorma, Kesla and
Dondro villages) were collected for assessing the water quality in study
area. The ground as well as surface water is potable and the various
parameters are well within the desirable limits for human consumption.
The total area of 750 Ha, covering part of the three villages is mostly in the
form of village land (278.313 Ha) and forest land (471.687 Ha.). As far as
buffer zone is concerned about 5.31% of the total area is occupied by
unirrigated agricultural land while irrigated agricultural land is only 0.22%.
Out of the total area, 14.95% area is under forest land, area not available
for cultivation is 14.54% and culturable waste land 64.98%.
Top soil samples were collected and analysed from core zone and buffer
zone. The soil of the area is mostly sandy loam and is generally yellowish to
reddish brown in colour and pH is acidic in nature.
Ambient noise levels were measured at ten locations in and around the site.
Noise level varied from 51.0 to 57.5 d(B)A during day and 38.8 to 43.7
dB(A) during night. The traffic density survey was conducted on Bela to
Balco road for 24 hours on 11-12 May 2011. Total numbers of vehicles were
found as 620 including cycles.
Executive Summary for Kesla North Coal Block of M/s Rathi Steel & Power Ltd., Chhattisgarh 6
Min Mec Consultancy Pvt. Ltd.
3.7 Ecology
In the buffer zone, the Reserve/Protected forest covers 6624 ha i.e. about
14.95% of the total area of the buffer zone. The common plant species
forests are Sal, Mahua, Saja, Kusum, Tendu, Palas, Mango etc. while the
crops grown in the area are gram, maize and paddy.
Mammals found in the study area include Jackal, Jungle cat, five stripped
squirrel, Mongoose, Porcupine, Indian Hare, etc., birds include Jungle crow,
House crow, Parakeet, Spotted dove etc. and reptiles include Common
Indian Krait, Lizard, etc.
As per Census 2001, 228 households are located in the two villages of core
zone i.e. Tapra and Bela. Three families (8 sub families) of Tapra village will
be displaced and rehabilitated. Total project affected persons are 327
including displaces and land losers, which are subject to finalisation. There
are 26 villages in the buffer zone. Total population of the villages is 208351.
The literacy rate is 65.49%. The literacy among women is 26.78%. 25.78%
of the total population are main workers, while 4.33% are marginal workers
and 69.89% are non workers.
4.1 Climate
Executive Summary for Kesla North Coal Block of M/s Rathi Steel & Power Ltd., Chhattisgarh 7
Min Mec Consultancy Pvt. Ltd.
µg/m3, 1.31 µg/m3 and 2.62 µg/m3 respectively due to mining activities.
mining activities.
Mitigation: Drilling and blasting will generate dust which will be controlled
through sprinkling. Coal handling transfer points in the coal handling plant
will be provided with dust suppression system like water sprinklers, fixed
sprinklers etc. Plantation all around the coal handling plant (CHP) will be
done. Transport vehicles shall be maintained leak proof. Transfer points of
coal will be provided with appropriate hoods/chutes to prevent fugitive dust
emission. Dust masks will be provided as safety measure to the workers,
engaged at dust generation points like drills, loading/unloading points,
crushers etc. A mechanical ventilator of following specification will be
installed in an air drift connecting to shaft.
Impact: Neither coal nor the OB, contains any harmful ingredients. No
impact on the surface water resources is envisaged as no water is drawn
specifically from any surface water source. Availability of ground water at
shallow levels, most of water requirement is planned to be drawn from
ground water (mine sump), which will have some impact on the ground
water resources. Other sources of pollution can be by oil spillage at the pit
head and at the facilities viz. workshop, resulting in oil and grease
contamination of surface water
Mitigation: The garland drain will be provided all along the mine boundary
in the applied area in order to protect the mine working from inflow of storm
water in mine pit. A surface water reservoir is proposed to store the run off
water as well as water pumped out from the mine. To prevent surface and
ground water contamination by oil/grease leak proof containers for storage
and transportation will be used. All effluent from mine, workshop, and
domestic water shall be treated. Oil water separator shall be installed. The
sewage waste generated will be drained by underground impervious drains,
and will be treated in Sewage Treatment Plant. Any areas with loose debris
within the leasehold will be planted. Garland drains will be constructed
around freshly excavated and dumped areas so that flow of water with
loose material is prevented.
Impact: Ambient noise levels in the core area are likely to increase from
deployment of additional noise generating equipment like Heavy Earth
Moving Machines, drills and blasting operations. The main noise generating
sources during coal mining will be due to dozers, loaders and dumper
movement, service vans and truck movement. Intermittent noise will be
generated due to operation of diesel generator. The increase in traffic will
also result in increased emissions which will cause impact on the ambient
air quality. The blasting operation may generate ground vibration, after
commencing the mining operations.
Executive Summary for Kesla North Coal Block of M/s Rathi Steel & Power Ltd., Chhattisgarh 8
Min Mec Consultancy Pvt. Ltd.
Impact: The total mine lease area is 750 Ha. Out of which, 148.11 Ha i.e.
19.74 % of land will be disturbed at conceptual stage. Therefore, 80.25 %
land will remain undisturbed. The disturbed area within ML will comprise
excavated land, external dumps, area occupied by infrastructure, roads etc.
Another activity affecting the topography will be construction of various
buildings and infrastructures. The ground water table will be intersected
even during the 1st year of mining. The water will accumulate through
precipitation as well as mine seepage in the mine sump.
Presently, the core zone is virgin and plain terrain sloping towards south-
west. The mining operations are not anticipated to cause any adverse
impact on topography outside the core zone. Within core zone about 60 m
deep void will be formed.
Mitigation: The over burden will be initially dumped out side the mine area
within the lease hold area during initial stage and the backfilling will be
ensured in mined out area at appropriate time in phases at an early stage.
The solid waste, which is biodegradable in nature, will be composted by
conventional or non-conventional techniques (vermi-composting) into
manure for use in greenbelt and reclamation. The recyclable waste will be
Executive Summary for Kesla North Coal Block of M/s Rathi Steel & Power Ltd., Chhattisgarh 9
Min Mec Consultancy Pvt. Ltd.
sold to by vendors while the disposable waste will be land filled. The sludge
other than oil and grease obtained from the workshop water treatment
system will be disposed in an impermeable pit. Whole of the excavated area
is proposed to be developed into a picnic spot due to the formation of water
body created as a result of the left out void. The water body will be used for
irrigation, watering the forest at earlier stages and it will also attract
avifauna.
4.7 Ecology
4.8 Socio-economics
Three household comprising of eight sub families of Tapra village within the
mine lease area will have to be displaced and resettled. Total 327 persons
will be affected including land losers and displaces. The land owners will be
deprived of their land and the non land owners who depend upon
agriculture will be deprived of their earnings. Care will be taken for
rehabilitation and employment of the displaced people. Mining and allied
activities will provide job opportunities for eligible persons and many will find
employment in service sector and marketing of day-to-day needs viz.
poultry and other agricultural products. The facilities and amenities like
dispensary and communication, to be set up for the project will improve the
basic infrastructure and these amenities can also be used by the people of
the nearby villagers. The proposed long term activity will open up market
and opportunities growth for self employed and cultivators. To this extent,
the impact will be significantly beneficial since un-employment and under
employment is the main socio-economic problem faced by the people in this
area. A detailed resettlement and rehabilitation plan is under draft stage. It
has been prepared in line with the Model R&R Policy of Chhattisgarh 2007.
It encompasses the compensation scheme for land losers as well as the
displacees in terms of monetary settlement as well as economic
rehabilitation.
Executive Summary for Kesla North Coal Block of M/s Rathi Steel & Power Ltd., Chhattisgarh 10
Min Mec Consultancy Pvt. Ltd.
The medical facilities will be provided for all the employees of the mine. All
the employees and contractual workers will be sent for regular health check
up for the occupational diseases like silicosis, pneumoconiosis, etc., which
are prevalent in the mining industry and tests like optometric, audiometric,
cardio-vascular etc will be done.
Being a mine project, it is a site specific project. Thus, the mine is being
established where the mineral is available. Kesla North Coal Block has
been allotted to M/s Rathi Udyog Ltd. by Ministry of coal to meet the coal
requirement of their own Sponge Iron Plant of capacity 0.75 MTPA situated
at District Sambalpur in Orissa. Mining will be done through opencast as
well as underground mining method under economic viability keeping in
view the conservation of minerals. Mechanized mining will be followed with
shovel dumper combination as the dip conditions of the block are gentle.
A team has been proposed to take care of pollution monitoring aspects and
implementation of control measures headed by an Projects Manager
(Mines). A schedule has been spelt out for periodical monitoring of the
important environmental parameters. The total capital investment on
environmental protection works is envisaged as Rs. 439.89 lakhs and
recurring expenditure during the stage of production is Rs. 110.71 lakhs per
year. The specific environmental protection investment is Rs. 146.63 per
tonne of the mineable reserves and recurring cost is Rs. 36.91 per tonne of
coal produced. Total investment in the project is Rs. 92 crores
approximately.
Mining and allied activities are associated with several potential hazards to
both the employees and the public at large. A worker in a mine should be
able to work under conditions, which are adequately safe and healthy. In
case a disaster takes place despite preventive actions disaster
management will have to be done. There are various factors, which can
result in a disaster in the mine. These hazards are pit slope failure,
overburden dump slope failure, heavy machinery
Executive Summary for Kesla North Coal Block of M/s Rathi Steel & Power Ltd., Chhattisgarh 11
Min Mec Consultancy Pvt. Ltd.
sufficient number of water hydrants with sufficient hose pipes will be made
available on the surface for fire protection. In the case of flooding water
courses shall be diverted to other water courses, diversion of dams/bunding
arrangement shall be made as part of water course diversions to prevent
water entering the mining area, garland drains shall be provided around the
mine pit at surface to divert surface water from flowing inside the pit.
Various inlet, outlet and erosion protection structures shall also be provided.
The mining project is located in one of the most undeveloped and backward
area. During operation phase, around 740 persons (Opencast and
Underground) will be directly employed at the mine. Many more persons will
be indirectly engaged either on contract basis or in transportation of
materials in provision of different services associated with the project. Better
education facilities, proper health care, road infrastructure and drinking
water facilities are basic social amenities for better living standard of any
human being. One time capital expenditure on CSR shall broadly be to the
tune of Rs. 50 lakhs as directed by Ministry of Environment in their Terms of
Reference issued for the project. The recurring expenditure shall be @Rs.5/
tonne of coal production.
The consultants engaged for the preparation of the EIA/EMP of the project
are Min Mec Consultancy Pvt. Ltd. Company. It was registered in July 1983
with the Registrar of Companies, Delhi & Haryana, India. In 1994, Min Mec
established a modern R & D laboratory. Min Mec is ISO 9001: 2008 certified
under ANZ-JAS. In June 2006, the laboratory received accreditation from
NABL. Min Mec has already applied for accreditation for EIA Consultant
with the Quality Council of India. As per MoEF circular of June 30, 2011, it is
listed at No. 16 of List B, Stage III.
Executive Summary for Kesla North Coal Block of M/s Rathi Steel & Power Ltd., Chhattisgarh 12